Manual Sugarcane Harvesting Research Articles

Social Life Cycle Assessment of Green and Burnt Manual Sugarcane Harvesting in the Northeastern Thailand

Despite green sugarcane harvesting being promoted in Thailand, with some limitations on the use of harvesting machines, green sugarcane harvesting is practiced manually in many sugarcane fields. Although the environmental benefit seems clear, this harvesting practice’s social implications are yet unknown. This study assessed social performances of green and burnt manual sugarcane harvesting in North-Eastern Thailand, the region hosting the largest sugarcane plantation area, using the Social Life Cycle Assessment technique. Data collection was undertaken by surveys. The performance reference points method was applied to assess the different stakeholder’s social performances. Key stakeholder groups examined were workers, local community, and farm owners. The main social issues included in this study are fair wages, working conditions, health and safety, local employment, economic development, social responsibility, and satisfaction of occupation. The results showed that the social performances of green and burnt sugarcane harvesting were generally similar except for the local community group. This is mainly due to the health impact of sugarcane burning on the local community. Different issues cause the farmers to harvest the burnt sugarcane; for example, labor shortage in the harvesting season and the difficult working conditions for green harvesting, causing the farm owners to bear higher costs. For these reasons, mechanized harvesting is suggested to help promote green harvesting to reduce local air pollution. However, technology development is in urgent need to make the harvesting machines more affordable and applicable to all geographical conditions.

A Preliminary Evaluation of the Kidney Function of Sugarcane Cutters From Brazil.

To evaluate clinical parameters, markers of kidney function, and skeletal muscle damage in a group of sugarcane cutters during harvesting season. Seventeen volunteers were assessed for anthropometrics and cardiorespiratory fitness. Blood and urine samples were collected 48-hours after the last work session. Blood was analyzed for glucose, creatine kinase, cholesterol, and a complete hemogram. Urine and blood samples were also analyzed for markers related to kidney function. Volunteers were young (26 ± 6 y), had low body fat (13 ± 5%), and good cardiorespiratory fitness (41 ± 6 mL/kg/min). Classical markers of kidney function (eGFR, creatinine, cystatin C) were within the normal range. However, ten volunteers presented elevated resting serum creatine kinase (221 ± 68 U/L). Manual sugarcane harvesting is associated with sustained skeletal muscle damage which may increase the risk for kidney injury in Brazilian sugarcane cutters.

Thermodynamic and Environmental Analysis of Scaling up Cogeneration Units Driven by Sugarcane Biomass to Enhance Power Exports

When manual harvesting of sugarcane was discontinued in many regions of Brazil, interest in power generation by burning the bagasse and straw in cogeneration units rose. Exergy analysis is often applied to increase the thermodynamic yield of these plants by identifying irreversibility and work availability. Conversely, pressure for adopting clean energy requires these systems to be evaluated for suitable environmental performance. This study identified and discussed the thermodynamic and environmental effects of scaling up systems that operate according Rankine cycle with reheating. Ten scenarios have been designed considering different levels of steam pressure and addition rates of straw remaining in the sugarcane cultivation. The thermodynamic analysis revealed a 37% improvement in the exergy efficiency and 63% of increasing in power generation to raise the steam pressure from 20 to 100 bar. Moreover, the use of 50% of residual straw into units operating at 100 bar can more than double the amount of electricity exported. If addressed considering a life cycle perspective, the use of straw improves the environmental performance of the cogeneration for Climate Change and Particle Matter Formation but provides additional impacts in terms of Water and Fossil resources depletions.

Life cycle assessment addressing health effects of particulate matter of mechanical versus manual sugarcane harvesting in Brazil

Concerns about environmental impacts and health effects associated with particulate matter emissions of sugarcane production in Brazil have been raised, mainly due to pre-harvest burning of straw in manual harvesting. In consequence, mechanical harvesting without burning has been increasingly adopted. Life cycle studies have assessed environmental impacts of sugarcane and sugarcane products. However, incorporating health effects of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in a life cycle assessment focusing on evaluating the impacts of increasing use of mechanization has not been conducted. This article compares the life cycle environmental and health impacts (with spatially differentiated characterization factors for PM2.5) of manual and mechanical harvesting of sugarcane in Brazil, and quantifies the health benefits due to the change of harvesting operations. An attributional life cycle assessment (LCA) of manual versus mechanical sugarcane harvesting was conducted to evaluate the impacts of 1 t of sugarcane at the distillery. ReCiPe was applied to characterize impacts at mid-point (i.e., climate change, fossil depletion, ozone depletion, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, human toxicity, photochemical oxidant formation, and particulate matter formation) and end point (i.e., human health, ecosystems, and resources). Impacts on climate change were compared considering different soil carbon sequestration scenarios. Characterization factors (CFs) of health effects of PM2.5 for Brazil were calculated differentiating emission sources, population densities, and burdens of disease. At the mid-point, sugarcane production with manual harvesting has higher impacts on photochemical oxidant formation and particulate matter formation mainly due to pre-harvest burning. Mechanical harvesting system may lead to higher impacts on fossil depletion, ozone depletion, and terrestrial acidification resulting from higher use of fertilizers and diesel. Differences of impacts on climate change between two systems vary depending on the soil carbon sequestration scenario. At the end-point level, manual harvesting has higher impacts on human health but lower impacts on resource use. The health effects of PM2.5 vary considerably with population density. Changing from manual to mechanical harvesting close to urban areas leads to a 93% reduction of health effects, while for rural only 15% and for remote areas 5%. When considering average population density, the health effects of PM2.5 of manual harvesting were approximately six times higher than mechanical harvesting. Health effects of PM2.5 calculated with ReCiPe are much lower and may underestimate the effects of primary PM2.5 emissions. The results of this article are an incentive to accelerate the mechanization of sugarcane harvesting in areas with lower mechanization levels (i.e., north-northeast region in Brazil and some rough terrain areas) concerning public health benefits. Meanwhile, manual harvesting with straw burning should only be performed in fields located in rural or remote areas. These results can also contribute to further studies comparing potential benefits of sugarcane culture with alternative crops and guide better decision making at regional development level. Spatially differentiated CFs of PM2.5 calculated in this article may be applied to future studies regarding health effects in the Brazilian context.

Field-scale spatial correlation between contents of iron oxides and CO2 emission in an Oxisol cultivated with sugarcane

Soil CO2 emission (FCO2) is one of the main sources of carbon release into the atmosphere. Moreover, FCO2 is related to soil attributes governing the transfer of gases from soil to the atmosphere. This study aimed firstly to describe the spatial variability of hematite (Hm), goethite (Gt), iron extracted with sodium dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate (Fed) contents, soil CO2 emission (FCO2) and free-water porosity (FWP) and secondly, to develop statistical models to predict the above mentioned factors in an Oxisol cultivated under manual harvesting of sugarcane (Saccharumspp.) in southeastern Brazil. The study was conducted on an irregular 50 m × 50 m grid containing 89 points, each 0.5-10 m apart. The 0-0.1 m soil layer at each sampling point was used to assess soil FCO2, moisture and total pore volume. The results were subjected to descriptive statistical and geostatistical analyses using auto- and cross-semivariograms. All soil attributes exhibited a spatial dependence structure and the experimental semivariograms fitted spherical and exponential models. The Gt content was the individual attribute that exhibited the highest linear and spatial correlation, especially with FCO2. We were able to use diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to map large areas, which allows for easy identification and estimation of soil attributes such as FCO2 and FWP. Geostatistical techniques faciltate the interpretation of spatial relationships between soil respiration and the examined properties.

Migrant labor and wear-out in manual sugarcane harvesting in São Paulo, Brazil

The scope of this paper is to describe the work of manual sugarcane harvesters, assessing the nutritional behavior and body composition between the beginning and the end of the harvest. A descriptive longitudinal study was made of harvesters in Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil, who answered a socio-demographic questionnaire and authorized measurement of Body Mass Index, Body Fat Percentage and Arm Muscle Circumference at three stages. Creatine kinase on the skeletal isoform, C-reactive protein and plasma urea were measured at the end of the harvest. Thirty male migrant harvesters with ages ranging from 18 to 44 from the Northeast (Ceará) were assessed over a nine-month period. The workers suffered significant body fat and weight loss in the first half of the harvest. Eighteen workers had abnormal levels of creatine kinase and four - out of 24 who had donated blood - had altered urea levels. Sugarcane harvesting work causes weight and body fat loss and gains in the lean body mass index, which suffers wear-out when working on consecutive harvests. It can also cause changes in biochemical markers of chronic systemic inflammation. Further studies will make it possible to comprehend the relationships between stress, wear-out, labor longevity and health in sugarcane harvesting.

Impacts of introducing a new tool for the manual harvesting of sugar cane: the ergonomic analysis contribution

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of introduction a new work tool on health and productivity of manual harvesting sugarcane workers. In this study it was performed aErgonomic Work Analysis (EWA) to analyze the work tool changes.The study included sugarcane workers, drivers, fiscals, and technical's safety at work.During the analysis process, 134 questionnaires were applied,aimed to identify the constraints that such workers are submitted,to evaluate the tool introduced, in order to propose modifications to improve it.The results showed a decrease in perceived exertion and discomfort, without compromising the cut quality. The main contributions of Ergonomic Work Analysis were the possibility of bringing the logic of the worker, in order to understand the inherent real work characteristics, to the process of developing the new tool. Besides, it was also noted that this methodology, based on the analysis workers activity in a real usage, as an application tool in design projects, providing innovations from the workers perspective.

Remote Sensing Images in Support of Environmental Protocol: Monitoring the Sugarcane Harvest in São Paulo State, Brazil

Traditional manual sugarcane harvesting requires the pre-harvest burning practice which should be gradually banned by 2021 for most of São Paulo State, Brazil, on cultivated sugarcane land (terrain slope ≤12%) according to State Law number 11241. To forward the end of this practice to 2014, a “Green Ethanol” Protocol was established in 2007. The present work aims at analyzing five years of continuous sugarcane harvest monitoring, based on remote sensing images, to evaluate the effectiveness of the Protocol, thus helping decision makers to establish public policies to meet the Protocol’s expected goals. During the last five crop years, sugarcane acreage expanded by 1.5 million ha, which was compensated by a correspondent increase in the green harvested land. However, no significant reduction was observed in the amount of pre-harvest burned land over the same period. Based on the current trend, this goal is likely to be achieved one or two years later (2015–2016), which will be five or six years ahead of 2021 as the goal in the State Law number 11241 states. We thus conclude that the“Green Ethanol” Protocol has been effective with a positive impact on the increase of GH, especially on recently expanded sugarcane fields.

Ant Diversity in a Sugarcane Culture without the Use of Straw Burning in Southeast, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Nucleus of Enviornmental Science Laboratory of Myrmecology University of Mogi das Cruzes, Avenue Dr. Cândido Xavier de Almeida e Souza, 200, Mogi das Cruzes, 08701-970, SP

Exposure Assessment of Smoke and Biogenic Silica Fibers During Sugar Cane Harvesting in Hawaii

Abstract Agricultural burning is a worldwide practice performed to reduce trash and pest infestation after the crops are harvested. Although this function is economically beneficial, the large quantities of smoke potentially expose not only the farm workers but also any surrounding communities. Characterization of this smoke is difficult, and there are few published reports on this topic. Unique to the sugar cane industry is the practice of burning the crop before harvesting. This not only produces smoke but also creates a considerable potential for worker exposure to the ash during the harvesting operations. A previous study had characterized workers' exposures to biogenic silicate fibers during manual harvesting of sugar cane in Florida. In Hawaii, contrary to practice in Florida, all cane is mechanically harvested. An exploratory survey was performed in Hawaii for the purpose of evaluating the feasibility of using gravimetric particulates, organic and elemental carbon, total elemental profiles, polycyc...